€800,000 investment for student paid working experience opportunities in summer 2021

An increase of 25%  in reimbursement for the private sector – equivalent to an additional €500 per student employed in summer

Minister for Economy and Investment Silvio Schembri announced an investment of €800,000 for job placement opportunities for Maltese ICT students, which will enable them to hone their skills and practice their academically acquired knowledge. This was said during the launch of MITA Student Placement Programme, 2021.

The Minister said that all students studying ICT or related subjects are eligible to participate. These include those that have completed the second year of Junior College, Higher Secondary or are at minimum studying at diploma level in ICT in a tertiary education institution. Minister Schembri mentioned how this placement will be able to assist the work of ICT in public sector organizations and even private ones, including non-governmental organizations.

The minister announced that in order for the Government to continue to generate the economy and support both the public and private sectors during these challenging times, the percentage of reimbursement will be increasing for this year – from 50% to 75% of basic salary costs for private sector organizations.

Minister Schembri explained how in practical terms the participating private organizations will benefit from an additional student salary of around €500 per student employed as part of this program.

Reimbursement for the public sector will remain at 100% of salary. Student placement lasts for 11 weeks during the summer period beginning in July for a total of 330 hours.

“This is a Government that believes in the potential of a Student Placement Program (SPP) and over the last 5 years around €2.5 million has been invested in student salaries as part of this initiative, which has helped over 1,700 students. Based on the average of previous years, it is estimated that in this call around 350 students will be benefiting from this program,” reiterated Minister Schembri.

He added that with the help of this program, employers can have a more diversified workforce by employing younger generations with new talents leading to a variety of ideas in their organization. The minister concluded that student placement programmes bring new perspectives and innovations, which can improve productivity. Throughout such programmes, further growth in the use of technology is being supported, where every year, this sector, which is so important for the economy, requires even more resources.

MITA  Executive Chairman Mr. Tony Sultana said that  this is the 13th consecutive year that MITA is launching the Student Placement Program, which has become part of MITA’s calendar of activities. He stated that during these 13 years MITA has invested more than €5 million in SPP, giving work experience opportunities to about 3,200 students.

Applications are open as from March 3^rd until April 9th and can be downloaded from https://mita.gov.mt/portfolio/engagement-with-community-bringing-digital/student-placement-programme/